I think this is great!! I would modify it to help with the lift from sitting to standing. I just showed it to my wife and told her I might build something in my shop. She said okay but it is NOT supposed to go 125 mph and it is not supposed to bale hay or lift a tractor to change a tire.
It does look like an improvement over a wheelchair for those spinal cord patients who live in an urban environment. There would need to be level sidewalks as you will notice in the promo he is riding on level floors. There are no pictures of him outdoors or in any type of transportation either.
I don't think MS patients would benefit from this type of assistance especially those of us who live in suburban or rural areas. It has very limited use which is mostly indoors. I can't even use my power chair outside the house. JMHO
Gabriella
Progressive/Relapsing MS, Myasthenia Gravis, Spinal Stenosis, Degenerative Disc Disease, Diabetes, Hypertension, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Advocate for ADA, Artist's Community for Change, ADAPT, Universal Living in Place, HopeKeepers, Complementary and Alternative Medicine
"Life is mostly froth and bubble, two things stand like stone. Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in your own"........Adam Lindsay Gordon
I was wondering about the lift from sitting to standing too and watched the video a few times. It looks as if the man in the video is putting forth some effort to get himself into a standing position but he may not be doing much at all. When I looked at it more closely, the seating and back support look pretty sturdy.
They state a couple of times that the device is for indoor use. The man is shown in stores and you wonder how he got there. Maybe he drives a car using hand controls, gets into the car from his device, stashes it in the car, and then sets it up to get out of the car and into the store?
About power wheelchairs outside--I've seen many people using power wheelchairs, going up and down fairly steep hills in them and going over gravel paths in parks, for instance.
I'm not sure I'd feel safe in one for very long outside on rough or hilly terrain though because my vision and hearing aren't what they should be.
Even my scooter which is the larger size can tip over and doesn't do well in the yard. On one of the MS Walks a lady in a 3 wheel scooter tipped over going up a slight incline. I started with an ultra-light wheelchair 18# from Kuschall and even it was very hard to put into the back seat of my car with leverage and the weakness I had then.
If your power chair is paid for with Medicare funds it was never meant to be used outside the house only inside. Medicare expects us to become hermits after we progress into the need for a power chair. Of course one can buy the necessary equipment oneself to transport the power chair if you have the proper vehicle. I have a scooter and a Braun lift to use to put it into our SUV when I go on outside trips and my husband always goes with me.
I really don't see how one could put this into a vehicle with a spinal cord injury as he is basically paralized from the waist down and it appears to weigh too much for one person to lift. People with spinal cord injuries sometimes have good upper body strength and can manuever a ultra-light weight folding chair over the seat and into the back but this looks to be heavy.
Progressive/Relapsing MS, Myasthenia Gravis, Spinal Stenosis, Degenerative Disc Disease, Diabetes, Hypertension, Hashimoto's Thyroiditis
Advocate for ADA, Artist's Community for Change, ADAPT, Universal Living in Place, HopeKeepers, Complementary and Alternative Medicine
"Life is mostly froth and bubble, two things stand like stone. Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in your own"........Adam Lindsay Gordon
Thanks for posting this. It is very interesting, but wish they had shown him getting to and from the vehicle that he uses to transport himself to all the places
they show him in. I like that he appears to be getting exercise. I can't use a wheelchair because I do not have enough upper body strength to push myself
in one.
The cost for one of these is really high, but if a person could afford it then it might be a good thing.
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